Men’s Squash Finishes Second in Inaugural Ivy League Championship Tournament

For the first time in Ivy League history, the four best Ancient Eight teams faced off in the inaugural Ivy League Tournament at the brand new Princeton Racquet and Recreation Fieldhouse. The new facility made its sparkling, Ivy League debut, featuring beautiful, cavernous ceilings, a large seating area, and, of course, 14 state-of-the-art squash courts, serving as a shiny new battlefield for the distinguished Ivy League squash powerhouses to engage in their first championship tournament.

The Harvard men’s squash team (8-4, 4-2 Ivy) is a historically dominant program in the national squash scene, boasting 42 national titles in program history across various formats. The Crimson built on its reputation this season, kicking off the year with a noticeably strong recruiting class and going undefeated through its first six games. On Jan. 23 and 24, the squad continued to build up its resumé, recording strong finishes at the CSA Individual National Championships.

Over the last few weeks, however, the Crimson had fallen into a slump. On Jan. 30, the squad fell 2-7 to Trinity University (15-0). The following weekend, it was dealt consecutive losses to Ivy League rivals Penn (14-2, 5-1) and Princeton (6-6, 4-2), 3-6 and 4-5, respectively.

Coming into the Ivy League Championship tournament, the Crimson was seeded second, but felt like underdogs. Its first match was against the third-seeded, tournament-host Princeton Tigers, who had beaten Harvard just two weeks prior. The Crimson was in a slump, and the Tigers were on a hot, two-game win streak. What’s more, the hosts were playing in a facility none of their competitors had ever seen before.

Harvard did have one thing on its side: desire for revenge.

Semifinal: Harvard 8, Princeton 1

Despite the lopsided final score, the two bitter rivals waged a war filled with high emotions and comeback victories.

This seminal match started tensely. Freshman Alexander Broadbridge was the first to take the court for the Crimson and quickly fell two games behind his Tiger opponent. Although it looked like Princeton might foster early momentum, the rookie made a stellar comeback, dominating the next three games 11-4, 11-4, then 11-2 to put his team on the board.

Senior David Costales kept the momentum going, sweeping his opponent to stretch the Crimson’s lead to 2-0.

Sophomore Segev Rome was eighth on the ladder and tried to keep the winning trend going, but the Tigers showed they were not going down without a fight. After the first four games, Rome and his Princteon opponent were tied at two apiece. The full match was nearing an hour of playtime, and neither player could gain the upper hand. The game advanced into tiebreaker points, and finally, Princeton won 14-12, placing the overall score at 2-1.

The Ivy League Rookie of the Year, Christian Capella, took the court next. He easily won the first two games 11-7 and 11-8, but then struggled to maintain control. The next two games went to Princeton, both 5-11. However, Capella pivoted and dominated the final set 11-3 to silence the Tigers.

First on the ladder, senior Denis Gilevskiy had a chance to stretch the lead to its breaking point. He traded wins for the first four games with Princeton’s junior captain, Hollis Robertson. Gilevskiy knew what his team needed, though, and pulled through, winning the final game 11-7.

The Crimson led 4-1 against the Tigers and needed one more win to punch their way to the first-ever Ivy League Championship Match. Junior Ishant Shah answered the call for Harvard, sweeping his opponent in just 20 minutes.

Final: Harvard 4, Penn 5

Just like the previous match, Harvard had lost to Penn not one week before this game and wanted revenge. Although the Crimson had momentum on its side, it was seeded below the regular-season Ivy champion, the No. 3 nationally ranked Quakers.

In the first wave, Gilevskiy started strong at the first position, not just beating Penn’s Omar Hafez, the individual national champion and Ivy League Player of the Year, but sweeping him in a clean three games. Gilevskiy’s win drew the first blood of the match for Harvard, sending a message about the Crimson’s intent to win. Closely after, Shah doubled down with a drawn-out last-minute win in the ninth spot.

The Quakers were relentless, though, responding with chippy, physical play. Capella’s fourth match on the ladder featured this trend. Both players were Americans and long-time rivals, and the match featured lots of pushing, aggression, and influential calls by the referee. By the end, it seemed both players were as concerned with physically beating the other as they were with getting the win. Ultimately, Penn came out with it, cutting Harvard’s lead to one.

To start the second wave, junior Jacob Lin stole the first game in a quick three-game match, ending in a Quaker retiring. The Crimson now led 3-1, needing only two of the next five wins to become the first-ever Ivy League Tournament champion.

Well fought, but ultimately shortcoming matches by Harvard’s freshmen Maddox Moxham and junior Omar Azzam helped Penn start to turn the tide. Azzam entered another chippy game. The New Cairo, Egypt native was up 2-1 to start the fourth game, but his opponent did not yield, taking the set to a thrilling 17-15 victory for the Quakers. Ultimately, Penn stole the last game too, again in tiebreaker points.

Broadbridge was able to secure a win in the last wave, placing the Crimson one win away from the Ivy League title banner.

The last two games were close, scrappy matches by Costales and Rome. However, both ultimately went in the Quakers’ favor, crowning Penn as the inaugural Ivy League Men’s Squash Tournament Champions in a thrilling 4-5 victory.

Luckily for Harvard fans, the men’s squash team returns on Thursday, March 5, for the CSA Team National Championship in the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia, P.a.

– Staff Writer Jake C. Swanson can be reached at [email protected]